Balloon Baking Soda Vinegar Science Experiment for Kids

Science is fun and balloons are fun! Why not combine them both with a cool balloon baking soda science activity! This is a must save experiment for baking soda and vinegar play all year long an easy kid’s science experiment for any day! Just a few simple ingredients and you have amazing chemistry at your fingertips that you can actually play with too.

BALLOON BAKING SODA SCIENCE EXPERIMENT FOR KIDS

It’s so easy to set up this balloon baking soda and vinegar activity. We used refillable ornaments from this past Christmas, but you can also use water bottles! You just need to be able to seal the end of the balloon around a top.

Make sure to grab your FREE printable simple science experiments cheat sheet for more great science projects to get started with right away!

SUPPLIES

Baking Soda

Vinegar

Containers

Balloons

Teaspoon

Funnel {optional but helpful)

My son suggested we try different amounts of baking soda in our balloon baking soda experiment to see what would happen. Always encourage your kids to ask questions and wonder about what will happen if…

This is a great way to encourage inquiry, observation skills, and critical thinking skills. You can read more about teaching the scientific method to young kids here.

LET’S GET STARTED WITH BALLOON BAKING SODA SCIENCE!

Blow up balloon a bit to stretch it out some.

Use the funnel and teaspoon to add baking soda to the balloon. We started with 2 teaspoons and added a teaspoon for each balloon.

Fill container with Vinegar half way

When your balloons are all made attach to containers making sure you have a good seal!

Lift up balloon to dump baking soda into the container of vinegar

Watch the balloon fill up

To get the most gas out of it, we swirled around the container to get it all going!

Make predictions! Ask questions! Will the balloons inflate differently? Will they inflate more or less?

Yes, we even had to try dumping them upside down to see what would happen. This is where a good seal comes in handy! What else can you do with baking soda? Check out these unique baking soda science activities!

SIMPLE SCIENCE: BLOWING UP BALLOONS WITH CO2

The science, behind this balloon baking soda experiment, is the chemical reaction between the base {baking soda} and the acid {vinegar}. When the two ingredients mix together the balloon baking soda experiment gets it’s lift!

That lift is the gas produced from the two ingredients is carbon dioxide or CO2. As the gas tries to leave the plastic container, it goes up into the balloon because of the tight seal you have created. Because the gas has no where to go and is pushing against the balloon it inflates it! Similarly, we exhale carbon dioxide when we blow up balloons.

Do be cautious with the amount of baking soda you add, as the reaction will get bigger each time. Safety goggles are always great for scientists!

You could definitely see the difference in the amount of baking soda we put in the balloons! The red balloon with the least baking soda, inflated the least. The blue balloon with the most, inflated the most. Enjoy simple science at home or in the classroom with this classic experiment.

ADDITIONAL BALLOON BAKING SODA SCIENCE TO TRY!

Here’s an additional balloon baking soda science experiment to try:

Fill one balloon using this cool chemical reaction and tie it off.

Next, blow up a balloon using your own carbon dioxide to about the same size or as close as possible.

Hold both balloons at arms length from your body. Let go!

What happens? Does one balloon fall at a different speed then the other? Why is this? Although both balloons are filled with the same gas, the one you blew up is not as saturated with pure CO2 as the one blown up with baking soda and vinegar.

I will look into my information. Remember a STEM project does not need to contain each of the 4 pillars of STEM but at least two. I can tell you we used math {measuring} and science {chemical reaction}.

We just did this experiment, but we only used one balloon. My kids are 2.5, 4 and 7 so we have a range of ability levels, but I wanted to add my kids’ favorite part! We took the balloon off the bottle and tied it shut, careful not to lose the gas. And then I blew a balloon up the same size, I asked them which one they thought would hit the ground first as I held them even in the air. Try it out!!